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But I can turn that around and say a C/S prop is a compromise. More money, more weight, more maintenance.
Bottom line; everything is a compromise.
 
Mel,

Back in 1998 I paid $1000 for my Hartzell which had very slight tip damage, and had it overhauled for $900. That included polishing the prop, which was a bit extra. I had a governor that I horse traded for (read: free) and had it overhauled for $250. Over the last eight years I have spent maybe 15 minutes a year to pull the spinner during the condition inspection, and put a squirt of grease in it, maybe another 15 minutes filing any nicks out. Otherwise its been flawless. I've flown thru rain perhaps hundreds of times, landed on gravel strips and now its still looks really good. Life's good.

Now let me ask you this.

How many times have you changed props?
How many times have you retorqued and re-safetied?
How many times have you flown thru rain?
Have you had to refinish the prop?

Bottom line is, I can outclimb, outcruise, slow down quicker, burn less gas, can fly thru heavy rain, all at a cost that is likely LESS than a FP prop.

I paid $1800 for a used prop in great condition for my Rocket back in 2005, and routinely see Hartzells for sale in the price range of a Catto. Point here is that you can buy good used CS props for less than a wood prop, and if one is diligently looking for good value they can easily find a better deal than a wood prop.

Just about any governor can be made to work with a Hartzell. I know of an airboat guy in FL that has a pile of them in a box. For about $450 today you can OH a governor.

Sure the FP will work fine. But I don't think the classic arguments pro FP hold up in my experience.
 
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rocketbob said:
Mel,

Now let me ask you this.

How many times have you changed props? Once in 16 years, to the Catto.
How many times have you retorqued and re-safetied? Re-torque once per year. Nylock nuts, so no safety wire.
How many times have you flown thru rain? Many
Have you had to refinish the prop? No.


Sure the FP will work fine. But I don't think the classic arguments pro FP hold up in my experience.
Click to expand...
But you said before that it would NOT work fine. As in a "one geared" car. THAT was my point.
And BTW, I fly off a gravel strip. I've even flown Mooneys regularly off gravel with no dings. Problems with gravel are pilot technique.
And maybe F/P props are not for you. That's your choice. Just realize that the rest of us have a choice too. If F/P prop are so bad, we need to inform the FAA and get them banned.
 
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Bob,
One more post, then you can have the last say. You and Larry seem to insinuate that I don't like C/S props. Quite the contrary. I love like C/S props. I've owned several and they are great. My Mooney needed one. My T-Craft didn't. My point is simply that F/P and C/S both work great on RVs.
 
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